Ryan Hurd is defending his wife, fellow singer-songwriter Maren Morris, after the star released her two-song project The Bridge and announced her departure from country music.
The Bridge contains two songs, “The Tree” and “Get the Hell Out of Here,” both of which delve into the challenges Morris has faced within the country music genre. In a recent interview with The Los Angeles Times, Morris said of country music, “I thought I’d like to burn it to the ground and start over. But it’s burning itself down without my help.”
On Instagram, Hurd supported Morris’s decision and music. “She deserves to be celebrated, not just tolerated,” he wrote in his message shared Wednesday (Sept. 20). “I love the response from people who don’t just love these two songs, they needed them. I knew it would strike a chord.”
Hurd also hit back against internet haters who have criticized Morris, her music and her support for greater diversity and inclusion of women, the LGBTQ community and people of color within the genre.
“Most people would just shut up and keep collecting the paycheck, because the wave of vitriol is real and it’s hard,” Hurd continued. “I’m so sick of watching my wife get the s–t kicked out of her by the internet. I’m sick of every talking head having some kind of stupid opinion about what she says. It’s the same every time, why are you surprised when she calls out something racist or homophobic, I’m sick of people getting rewarded for it.
“To me the Bridge is beautiful and so rock and roll. She deserves a little sunshine for the burden she has carried for every artist and fan that feels the same way,” he added. “I can’t wait for that first tour and to see all of the smiling and beautiful people who needed these songs and and also need HER. I can’t wait to make music that follows the same path, whatever that is.”
Hurd also had a message for the keyboard commentators. “Feel free to leave a comment below to express your hatred or love for whatever I said, they will be duly noted, filed, sorted, and discarded. Love you, MM. Keep on keepin’ on.”
In releasing The Bridge, Morris previously stated, “These two songs are incredibly key to my next step because they express a very righteously angry and liberating phase of my life these last couple of years, but also how my navigation is finally pointing towards the future, whatever that may be or sound like,” she said in a statement. “Honoring where I’ve been and what I’ve achieved in country music, but also freely moving forward.”
Morris — who posed for the cover of Billboard‘s Pride issue alongside drag stars — and Hurd have collaborated on occasion over the years, including the 2021 song “Chasing After You,” which reached No. 2 on Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart. The song and video also earned the couple CMA nominations for music video and musical event of the year.
Morris is set to perform at Joe’s on Weed Street in Chicago on Oct. 5, with proceeds from the show benefiting GLAAD, followed by performances in Washington and California later in the month.
See Hurd’s full message below:
